Woman reportedly boards plane, flies to Los Angeles without ticket

A San Francisco woman who has repeatedly tried to board flights at San Francisco International Airport without a ticket managed to board a plane at Mineta San Jose and fly to Los Angeles.

Authorities on Monday arrested 62-year-old Marilyn Hartman at LAX and accused her of trespassing after she reportedly flew unticketed from San Jose to Los Angeles aboard Southwest Flight 3785 on Monday night.

Officials said she was screened at the security checkpoint with all other passengers, but it's unclear how Hartman made it past both the TSA and Southwest employees at the gate without a ticket.

"You know, one single person able to do something like that, it does raise the hackles on the back of the neck a little bit," said airport patron John Ector.

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"Yeah, that is concerning because that means anyone could just get on a plane and do whatever they want to do," said Southwest passenger Angie Meza.

A San Jose Airport spokeswoman issued a statement saying, "The airport's security systems and processes were not a factor in this incident, and public safety was never compromised."

Hartman was caught after a Southwest employee realized she did not have a ticket, autorities said. Investigators reportedly arrested her after concluding she had no confirmed reservation or any proof she purchased a ticket.

The incident comes four months after a 15-year-old boy managed to jump the fence at Mineta San Jose and board a flight to Maui.

And although two unticketed passengers have been able to board flights, San Jose airport officials said the two incidents are different and unrelated because Hartman went through the screening process.

The TSA said it has made some minor modifications to the layout of the document-checking area to prevent another such incident.

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